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House passes measure to boost veterans medical benefits

The Los Angeles Times: "The House voted 419 to 0 on Wednesday to approve new benefits and financial support for the primary live-in caregivers of seriously wounded veterans who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure, which would cost about $1.7 billion over five years, is part of comprehensive legislation that would permit the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand its assistance to family members of veterans generally." The bill calls for rates on a par with "commercial rates for home caregivers" (Tan, 4/21).

23 Apr 2010

RMEI, PIM jointly sponsor complimentary continuing education virtual lecture on CRPC

Castrate-refractory prostate cancer, which is characterized by tumor progression despite castrate levels of testosterone, develops in many prostate cancer patients treated with androgen-deprivation therapy. Standardized guidelines for the treatment of CRPC are lacking, and a number of factors must be considered when deciding between second-line hormonal therapy and chemotherapy.

23 Apr 2010

Patel trial adjourned further

There has been a further delay in the much hyped Dr. Jayant Patel manslaughter case.

23 Apr 2010

Despite federal help, states struggle to move people out of nursing homes

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in collaboration with USA Today, writes about the Money Follows The Person program: "Richard Hasselbach and Deborah Kadlec met in a nursing home and dreamed of a life together outside its walls.

23 Apr 2010

Gelesis presents Attiva data at AACE 19th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress

Boston-based medical technology firm Gelesis, Inc. unveiled its capsulated device Attiva™, and presented data showing that Attiva™ significantly increased the post-meal feeling of satiety and reduced hunger between meals in obese patients. This data was presented today at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 19th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress.

23 Apr 2010

Drug use theft among Doctors and Nurses

Western Australia’s Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) revealed in a recent report that there has been a constant theft and abuse of restricted drugs by healthcare staff including physicians and nurses.

23 Apr 2010

Florida's Health Care Freedom Act receives approval

Today, Florida's Health Care Freedom Act (HJR 37/SJR 72), sponsored by Florida Representative Scott Plakon and Florida Senator Carey Baker, passed the House and Senate and will appear on the November ballot. And yesterday, Mississippi Representatives Alex Monsour and Steven Palazzo received preliminary approval to place the Health Care Freedom Act on the 2011 or 2012 ballot.

23 Apr 2010

Genetic tests that may replace biopsies

Genetic tests conducted on blood samples may replace the current biopsies when it comes to checking if immune systems are rejecting new organs of heart transplant patients. The test would be far less invasive and uncomfortable as compared to the biopsies, not to mention more affordable.

23 Apr 2010

Sleep improves memory

The next time you want to remember what you were taught, take a nap and dream about it. You may just remember it better. That is what scientists at the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts had to say after a new study. Robert Stickgold the lead author confirmed that a nap would improve the chances of your remembering stuff if you dream it.

23 Apr 2010

Biological activity of Curis' CUDC-101 HDAC, EGFR and HER2 inhibitor published in Cancer Research

Curis, Inc., a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced that a research paper describing the biological activity of its HDAC, EGFR and HER2 inhibitor, CUDC-101, was published online in the journal Cancer Research and also will be published in an upcoming print version of the journal.

23 Apr 2010

Data from pivotal study of Marqibo in ALL patients to be presented at ASCO meeting

Hana Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on strengthening the foundation of cancer care, today announced that complete data from its pivotal study of Marqibo in patients with relapsed/refractory adult Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia, have been accepted for an oral podium presentation at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology to be held June 4-8, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois.

23 Apr 2010

Cisco uses telemedicine in Southern Calif. and Southwest to lower costs

Cisco is using its HealthPresence telemedicine system in new programs in Southern California and the Southwest to "compete with other major tech companies, including Intel, IBM and General Electric, in the growing market for health-care products and services," The San Jose Mercury News/The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reports.

23 Apr 2010

Colorcon acquires NP Pharm

Colorcon, Inc. today announced the acquisition of the full-service pharmaceutical excipient company, NP Pharm, a Division of Ethypharm. This acquisition expands Colorcon's global excipient product offerings in the pharmaceutical and nutritional markets.

23 Apr 2010

IAVI, Lentigen to design preventive AIDS vaccine

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Lentigen today announced a collaboration to design a preventive AIDS vaccine based on Lentigen's technology. The candidate AIDS vaccine will be devised to safely mimic biological aspects of HIV infection and tested first in pre-clinical studies as part of an initial 18-month agreement.

23 Apr 2010

FDA Advisory Committees vote against approval of Acurox NDA

Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs and Drug Safety and Risk Management Committees voted that they do not have enough evidence to support the approval of the New Drug Application (NDA) for Acurox® (oxycodone HCl and niacin) Tablets for the treatment of moderate to severe pain, considering the deterrent effects of niacin as well as the potential deterrent effects of the other features specific to Acurox®.

23 Apr 2010

Physical exercise and computer use may help protect against mild cognitive impairment: Mayo Clinic

A new Mayo Clinic study found that physical exercise and computer use may help protect against mild cognitive impairment, a disorder of the brain that affects nerve cells involved in thinking abilities.

23 Apr 2010

Celator Pharmaceuticals presents data on CPX-351 Liposome Injection and HDPN formulation

Celator Pharmaceuticals today announced data from animal studies demonstrating the superior bone marrow uptake of CPX-351 (Cytarabine:Daunorubicin) Liposome Injection, its lead clinical-stage program, as well as the enhanced circulation kinetics and efficacy of its preclinical hydrophobic docetaxel prodrug nanoparticle (HDPN) formulation were presented at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, DC (Abstracts 3698 and 5534).

23 Apr 2010

Miss. lawmakers want voters to have say on health coverage mandate

Two Republican lawmakers in Mississippi want voters there to have the final say on whether purchasing health insurance should be required as mandated by the new federal health reform law. State Reps. Alex Monsour and Steven Palazzo are proposing a ballot initiative to ask voters the question.

23 Apr 2010

Study: California's nursing-ratio law saves patients' lives

News outlets report on a study suggesting that California's mandatory nursing-ratio law saves patient lives.

23 Apr 2010

NeoStem signs Collaborative Research Agreement with ImmuneRegen BioSciences

NeoStem, Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and China and ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc., announced today that they have entered into a Collaborative Research Agreement, focused on the development of an advanced, adult human stem cell product.

23 Apr 2010